Speaking at a press conference in Lucknow on her birthday on Saturday, 15 January, ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati hit out at the Samajwadi Party, stating that it would not be beneficial to the Dalits in the state. She also slammed the defectors, terming them "selfish."
She asserted that the BSP would return to power in the upcoming elections.
Her statements come at a time when the ruling BJP has been hit by a wave of resignations and defections, with 13 MLAs, including three ministers from Yogi Adityanath's Cabinet, calling it quits. Many of them have joined the SP, much like some of the defectors from Mayawati's BSP had done in 2021.
"Selfish people are defecting. This [anti-defection] law needs to be made stricter," Mayawati said at the press conference on Saturday, warning that these defectors would be no friend to Dalits despite their rhetoric.
"Defecting leaders are forming an alliance with the SP. They are saying that they will respect the Dalit downtrodden and great men. They are shouting that the SP is an Ambedkarite party. But there is no truth to this."BSP chief Mayawati at her press conference on 15 January
The BSP chief argued that the Samajwadi Party had torn up a Dalit bill, which cast doubts on whether the party could be considered beneficial for the Dalits in UP.
"The names of districts, which were named after Dalit leaders, were changed by the SP. Sant Ravidasnagar district was renamed 'Bhadohi' district by them. The people of Purvanchal know this. It is sad that when they were in power, they changed it to Bhadohi," she said.
She also claimed that the SP only took care of Yadavs among the OBC communities when they were in power, but that the BSP took care of everyone. "The SP got a lot of riots done, took votes in elections but did not involve all communities. They have neglected Dalits and Muslims in their first list [of candidates]."
The BSP also released its first list of candidates for the upcoming state elections, which has the names of Rajendra Singh Upadhyay and Brijendra Malik in Shamli, and Haji Mohammad Aneesh and Surendra Pal Singh in Muzaffarnagar.
Mayawati, meanwhile, had strong words for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at the press conference, stating it was playing a politics of division by trying to make it look like the BSP would not participate in the elections. She said that its attempts would be unsuccessful.
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